Welcome - come & smell the roses . . .

Just a few words about how my nursery blog site works . . .
this wide column features stories & photos et cetera in reverse order, with the most recent first (after this introduction).

I update the site a couple of times a week - themes are diverse from the practical to the aesthetic & the reflective; sharing questions, insights & a bit of whimsy.

Unless noted, the photos are mine, taken in the nursery garden. To enlarge thumbnails, left click on the image; then use your back button to return to the same page. Check it out on Minky Zammit, relaxing here after a day of smelling roses & other doglet pursuits.

The right hand column contains information about the nursery & the roses; holds my post archives (both by month & 'Label' reference) and shows external links.

I hope you enjoy this e-journal about the roses . . .

'Crépuscule'

It is hard to find anyone who doesn't love Crépuscule, although I finally encountered one such person a couple of months ago who said they would never have it in their garden - for once I was lost for words ...

Well let's see - it offers gentle harmonious apricot tones , it repeats generously, is a tractable small climber, has very few prickles, doesn't succumb to blackspot etc, and of course is one of the great truly evergreen roses.

Probably the most famous display of Crépuscule in Australia, is the hedge at Flemington Racecourse, where most of the nation sees it once a year as they watch the Melbourne Cup on television.

'Crépuscule' translates to 'twilight' in English - the French use this word for both dawn & dusk & it is frequently found in literature & poetry. Recently I also found apt reference in a doglet training article, with a vet describing dogs as being 'crépuscular' - most energetic at dawn & dusk - fits Minky to a 'T' ...


The rose, a Noisette, was bred in France by Francis Dubreuil & introduced in 1904, the parentage is not known.

This photo of 2 plants of Crépuscule was taken in winter 2007 (June 28). The adjacent wooden door is 6' high, and each plant has a spread of about 3 metres. These roses were the first planted here in winter 2003.

what will autumn bring?

The 15mls of rain on 25 March was nice, but look at the state of the ground now, (April 1st - 7 days later). Minky had to work hard to dig this little hole in her paddock - actually I think she's in the process of building a 9 hole golf course in her soccer field ...


The photo below, of the same soil profile (in a garden bed about 25 metres away from Minky's 'dig') shows the difference the mulch makes, nevertheless the soil is drying out fast.

Today we have a hot wind, a cool change is coming through later (with wind too) but chances of rain are slim.

Autumn can be challenging here; the roses are growing happily & want to continue to bloom, however with very low humidity, even the light daytime breezes remove a considerable amount of moisture from the plants. The night-time winds & breezes that we don't always hear, and therefore don't notice, worry me too.

If it stays dry, and we get early frosts, the drying out will be significantly increased. Forecasts are mixed, but the short term expectations (until mid April) aren't looking good. So - everything is now getting a good autumn drink & mulch top-up (where needed) to get them through until the June rains.

The frost levels here aren't a problem for the roses - except if the ground is too dry and the plants are very young - they can be knocked back a bit - I found that in winter 2006 - one of the hardest winters here in 20 years apparently. (you can see typical frost levels in 'The Teas - Winter Images' post.)

Fingers crossed, that those forecasters who are suggesting good rains soon, are indeed on the money ...